[VIDEOS] "Babar Azam should step down as Pakistan skipper in the white ball formats": Kamran Akmal

[MenInG]

[VIDEO] "Babar Azam should step down as Pakistan skipper in the white ball formats": Kamran Akmal

Kamran Akmal chats with Saj about selection policies, Pakistan Test team's struggles, Babar Azam's captaincy, changes needed in Pakistan domestic cricket and more.

 

[ArabKnight]

Kamran Akmal was more talented batsman than Babar Azam. However he did not get as much chances.

I would bench Babar and introduce Kamran as opener in the T20 squad. The captain of T20 team should be Shadab.

 

[W63L35]

Babar Azam's T20I Captaincy Record against captains of other teams.
Qualification: Catained in minimum 40 T20Is.

 

[W63L35]

Babar Azam's ODI Captaincy Record against Pakistani ODI Captains.
Qualification: Captained in minimum 10 ODIs.

 

[ask_analyse_act]

Changing and chopping captains will do more bad than good..

He is the only world class batsman they have and also the first name in the teamsheet..

They need proper qualified , experienced supporting staff to guide them.. Im sure he will be a different captain under Mickey, Moody or Hesson

They lack direction , fear of losing captaincy , place in the team , keeping buddies in the team are cause of job insecurity..
Proper man management team will erase those items, give a hand and guide them with a short and long term plan just like how Mickey did for the white ball team..

For example batsman like Azhar Ali who has been playing since 2010 was only tried as a test opener during Mickey's time which he tasted great success , those hundreds in Eng and double ton in Aus were the highlights of his career.. also a triple ton in UAE..

 

[Saj]

Babar Azam's ODI Captaincy Record against Pakistani ODI Captains.
Qualification: Captained in minimum 10 ODIs.

But then people will say out of those 12 wins:

2 were against Zimbabwe
3 were against Netherlands
3 were against West Indies

 

[Saj]

Is Babar the right man to skipper Pakistan in any format is probably the question that needs to be asked.

I'm not sure he has the leadership qualities needed at the highest level of cricket.

 

[Sunny_majoka]

He has a point. Babar Is not a fit for this position in any format however, we don't have consistent performer in tests apart from babar, imam can be good option for test captaincy may be?

 

[gibsyhesperis]

Is Babar the right man to skipper Pakistan in any format is probably the question that needs to be asked.

I'm not sure he has the leadership qualities needed at the highest level of cricket.

I think the answer is clearly no, in that he is a poor and limited captain, will not improve significantly and an experinced coach won't be able to turn him into a good captain.

However, he is Pakistan's only world class batsman (those who claim otherwise either have a vendetta or simply have no understanding).

Does he have the maturity to accept he should "only" play as a batsman not as captain (like Tendulkar, Atherton, Root did) or will he throw his toys out of the pram (like Lara and countless deposed Pakistani captains of the past) ?

 

[gibsyhesperis]

Saj -- thanks for this interview.
He came across far more thoughtful than I expected in terms of his views on selection, first class structure and not choosing players for Tests based on PSL performances.
Thanks again

 

[Savak]

Lol at the posters who are claiming that because he is the only world class batsman in the team, he deserves to hold on to the captaincy. That is not a criterion and should have no bearing

 

[MenInG]

Lol at the posters who are claiming that because he is the only world class batsman in the team, he deserves to hold on to the captaincy. That is not a criterion and should have no bearing

Basically a player who can hold his place in the side needs to be a captain.

 

[gibsyhesperis]

Lol at the posters who are claiming that because he is the only world class batsman in the team, he deserves to hold on to the captaincy. That is not a criterion and should have no bearing

Is anyone really saying that ?

 

[Saj]

I think the answer is clearly no, in that he is a poor and limited captain, will not improve significantly and an experinced coach won't be able to turn him into a good captain.

However, he is Pakistan's only world class batsman (those who claim otherwise either have a vendetta or simply have no understanding).

Does he have the maturity to accept he should "only" play as a batsman not as captain (like Tendulkar, Atherton, Root did) or will he throw his toys out of the pram (like Lara and countless deposed Pakistani captains of the past) ?

The Pakistani cricketing mentality is very different.

In some countries senior players don't want to captain or are quite happy to step down as skipper.

However in Pakistan if you are a senior player, most feel they have a right to be skipper.

 

[Saj]

Lol at the posters who are claiming that because he is the only world class batsman in the team, he deserves to hold on to the captaincy. That is not a criterion and should have no bearing

And that's why we are where we are.

This is exactly the mentality that holds Pakistan cricket back.

We don't groom and prepare skippers, just give the job to a senior player and hope for the best.

 

[Mamoon]

Realistically, you can only replace Babar if you split captaincy between Tests & LOIs. If PCB wants one player to captain across all three formats then there is no replacement for Babar.

He is the only player along with Shaheen who is a guaranteed (& deserving) starter in all three formats. Shaheen’s injury issues & workload management makes him a unviable option for captaincy.

Rizwan’s honeymoon period is over & it will take a while before he wins his place back in the Test team & he might be replaced by Haris in ODIs this year if he continues to fail.

 

[deems]

Realistically, you can only replace Babar if you split captaincy between Tests & LOIs. If PCB wants one player to captain across all three formats then there is no replacement for Babar.

He is the only player along with Shaheen who is a guaranteed (& deserving) starter in all three formats. Shaheen’s injury issues & workload management makes him a unviable option for captaincy.

Rizwan’s honeymoon period is over & it will take a while before he wins his place back in the Test team & he might be replaced by Haris in ODIs this year if he continues to fail.

I agree with you say about Babar regarding captaincy. It would be interesting to know how you feel Babar would fare under a professional set up and a coach like Mickey Arthur.
I honestly feel that we could have won at least the Asia Cup and more had we not incompetent clowns managing our team.

Tactically, Rizwan has an edge over Babar i feel. But Rizwan is in cuckoo land at the moment. Is he worth backing in terms of captaincy?

Again, I feel under a professional set up, Rizwan would not have been allowed to play anchor in t20s as he has been.

 

[gibsyhesperis]

Realistically, you can only replace Babar if you split captaincy between Tests & LOIs. If PCB wants one player to captain across all three formats then there is no replacement for Babar.

He is the only player along with Shaheen who is a guaranteed (& deserving) starter in all three formats. Shaheen’s injury issues & workload management makes him a unviable option for captaincy.

Rizwan’s honeymoon period is over & it will take a while before he wins his place back in the Test team & he might be replaced by Haris in ODIs this year if he continues to fail.

Exactly this and a good summary of the the dilemma facing the selectors/management.
A captain has to be worth of a position in the side as a player (Pakistan are too weak a team to carry someone and the player would not command the respect of the dressing room if they repeatedly failed). Brearley was an exception — few test sides would have a captain who doesn’t deserve a place as a player.

I guess an option is to split the red ball/white ball captaincy but that does raise other issues, not least that it requires a level of maturity from both format captains .

 

[Savak]

Axing Babar as captain from all formats and appointing a more competent captain even if they are not performing consistently will be a bold positive move.

 

[Jazx]

Not even from white ball he should be axed from captaincy from all formats, the intelligence level he showed while declaring in last test was only laughable. But unfortunately there is not even a single suitable candidate for replacement.

 

[Muhammad Saad]

The difference in Test Cricket and our FC competition is huge now

Clearly we lack talented players in our domestic setup , there are no real pacers in our domestic FC cricket who can bowl all day long , can extract bounce and zip off the surface and atleast move the ball in one direction, No real spinners who can extract big turn and bounce and fairly accurate as well, The batsmen scoring runs against gentle pacers and darting spinners found it wanting against big boys in International cricket. What should be the next step to find more talent??? U19 lot seems to be even worse then the senior domestic players.

 

[Muhammad Saad]

it's appaling when our domestic beasts looks like average cricketers when playing Test cricket.

 

[Muhammad Saad]

Abrar , Mir Hamza , Muhammad Ali our domestic performers looks toothless against Nz and Eng.

 

[Barragan]

Definitely the bowlers have been disappointing.

However, the performing batsman are doing well, so it's not all doom and gloom.

I'm sure that Ghulam, Huairara and Salahuddin will also do very well if given the opportunity.

 

[Saj]

Disastrous run of results in Test cricket.

I wonder if that's the format that he will give up captaincy in rather than the white-ball formats?

 

[gibsyhesperis]

Disastrous run of results in Test cricket.

I wonder if that's the format that he will give up captaincy in rather than the white-ball formats?

That would be the logical conclusion of the run of results we’ve just witnessed.
However, in the white ball game there are credible alternatives (eg Shadab) but they are far more limited choices available in Test cricket (? Imam).

The challenge is that the need for a radical shake up is more pressing in Test cricket

 

[Pakhs]

That would be the logical conclusion of the run of results we’ve just witnessed.
However, in the white ball game there are credible alternatives (eg Shadab) but they are far more limited choices available in Test cricket (? Imam).

The challenge is that the need for a radical shake up is more pressing in Test cricket

I dont think its a captaincy issue. We do not have experienced test match players. Bowling is totally new and even the batting lacks experience apart from Babar himself and now Safi.

Unfortunately in LOI formats sometime tallent can be enough even if the team is lacking in experience however no test match side has ever been good without experienced players. Unfortunately in Pakistan there is no proper planning of how to replace players and keep enough experienced players in the team. Maximum one member of bowling unit can be a relatively new player at a time and same goes to batting side. There should be a proper planning of how to replace a batsmen if he is going to retire soon etc.

Once you have a decent and experienced test side you need to make sure you give some debuts to some players every now and then to prepare them for a time when anyone retires. And not let bulk retirements maximum one every 2 years.

 

[Stewie]

Leadership can be taught but Pak cricketers have a reputation for not learning new things and improving. Very few of them improve upon their debut in the national team.

 

[W63L35]

So the #5 ranked team (Pakistan) just beat #1 ranked team (NZ) under the leadship of Babar Azam.

His ODI (White Ball) captaincy record is now the BEST among all time Pakistani ODI captains.

He has captained against 7 teams and has winning record against 6 of those team including NZ, Aus and SAF.

Kamran Akmal might consider changing his mind.......

 

[Zaz]

Kamran Akmal was more talented batsman than Babar Azam. However he did not get as much chances.

I would bench Babar and introduce Kamran as opener in the T20 squad. The captain of T20 team should be Shadab.

Surely joke post of the week

Babar is fine for limited overs cricket He has been performing and winning in odis Tests are the issue

 

[MenInG]

Happy Birthday to Kamran Akmal:

Born: January 13, 1982 (age 41 years), Lahore, Pakistan

 

[ArabKnight]

Surely joke post of the week

Babar is fine for limited overs cricket He has been performing and winning in odis Tests are the issue

Kamran actually was more talented than Babar but he ruined himself by not being hardworking. Look at the stats. Kamran was a highly skilled bat with nice strokeplay and attacking style. However he did not work hard to improve against international bowling like McGrath, Sreesanth, Cheema.

 

[Rana]

He won’t step down from anything

He has to be forcefully removed

 

[Saj]

Spoke with a couple of people close to him.

At the moment he has no intention of stepping down as captain in any format.

 

[Savak]

Apparently the PCB is interested in appointing Kamran Akmal as the junior team chief selector

 

[Zaz]

Kamran actually was more talented than Babar but he ruined himself by not being hardworking. Look at the stats. Kamran was a highly skilled bat with nice strokeplay and attacking style. However he did not work hard to improve against international bowling like McGrath, Sreesanth, Cheema.

Nonsense, just because someone can hit a couple of pretty drives doesnt make one more talented than Babar. Babar is a very correct and stylish batsman in his own right. He has been highly thought of from a young age and was going to play for pakistan

FYI i watched kamran from the start of his career and he flattered to deceive more often than not

Kamran Akmals intnl stats show hes not half the batter his cousin babar is


Back to topic looks like the Akmals have an axe to grind since Umar and Kamran havent been part of the team for the last 3-4 years and hence all this vitrol against Babar

 

[boomboomcheema]

Senior Akmal doesn't seem to have any love for his cousin Babar.

 

[MenInG]

As per Wahab Riaz in an interview regarding Kamran Akmal:

"Surely, his absence will highly be felt, but, I have heard that he is most likely to get a coaching job in Zalmi setup"

 

[MenInG]

Kamran Akmal in an interview:

"I talk about India because if you see the top four players who have scored most hundreds in the past 10-12 years, three of them are from India."

"So they play long cricket and that's what should be our focus too. We will need to mentally prepare our players and make them stronger and this should now happen from age-group cricket."

 

[shaz619]

Is this guy related to Babar by any chance?

 

[MenInG]

Is this guy related to Babar by any chance?

They are cousins.

 

[Firebat]

Makes sense as there are more candidates to replace him in white-ball compared to red-ball.

 

[MenInG]

Kamran Akmal speaking to the media

“Babar Azam is a great batter but there are still question marks over his captaincy. He should be more confident as captain while also improving his body language. He has been captain for three years and its time to deliver"

“It is a World Cup year which is why he should be more aggressive as captain. Graeme Smith was also young when he was made captain. I think Babar should take a leaf out of Smith’s book"

 

[MenInG]

Kamran Akmal:

“Obviously, I will not be playing cricket anymore due to new roles in PCB"

“I will be playing small leagues but that too depend on my responsibilities in a new role given to me by PCB"

 

[MenInG]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Kamran Akmal "I'm retiring from domestic cricket in Pakistan and will focus in future on serving the Pakistan Cricket Board in any way they want me to. I will also help Peshawar Zalmi whenever I am required" <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cricket?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cricket</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@SajSadiqCricket) <a href="https://twitter.com/SajSadiqCricket/status/1622981220761059332?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 7, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[MenInG]

From Kamran presser:

During a press conference here on Tuesday, Kamran was asked why he doesn't often highlight Babar's performance on social media.

"It's not like the way it is portrayed. Actually, I try to not praise my brothers, be they Umar, Adnan or Babar. I want the world to praise them,"

"Babar is a very good player. I don't think we have such things in our minds. I want him to continue performing"

 

[Bewal Express]

Not a bad call. The WC should be natural end in Oct unless we win it or play really well and at least reach the SF

 

[Major]

From Kamran presser:

During a press conference here on Tuesday, Kamran was asked why he doesn't often highlight Babar's performance on social media.

"It's not like the way it is portrayed. Actually, I try to not praise my brothers, be they Umar, Adnan or Babar. I want the world to praise them,"

"Babar is a very good player. I don't think we have such things in our minds. I want him to continue performing"

) what a hypocrite.

This guy would be the first one to defend Umar Akmal if someone said something about him

 

[Rana]

) what a hypocrite.

This guy would be the first one to defend Umar Akmal if someone said something about him

How is defending and praising the same thing?

 

[DeadlyVenom]

Babar is still in place.

Instead Kamran has stepped down from his new role.

 

[Saj]

Shaheen Shah Afridi as Pakistan's T20I skipper?

 

[KingOfPakBreakfast]

Shaheen Shah Afridi as Pakistan's T20I skipper?

I’d take it as long as Shadab was made VC. Always wary of having pacers as captains, given how they can’t play every game.

 

[Savak]

Mohd Asif commented that there are no issues with Babar Azam the batsman, however he has serious reservations with Babar Azam the captain, so many times when the bowlers are getting whacked, Babar is on the boundary twindling his thumbs with a clueless expression on his face, no discussion with the bowlers, no Plan B, C. A captain has to be proactive and has to be able to buck up his troops whenever they are under the pump. Given that hes been captaining different teams for the last 4 years now with zero growth in his captaincy, it is very clear he is just not a natural captain and he is incapable of any further development in this regard atleast.

 

[badsha001]

I’d take it as long as Shadab was made VC. Always wary of having pacers as captains, given how they can’t play every game.

will do wonders for Pakistan. gives an opportunity for others to step up and lead the side when the captain takes a break as well as allows the captain to rethink his strategies while observing from outside the field.

 

[shamaan]

I would like to have Rizwan or Shadab as captain.Shaheen should not be captain and play all 3 formats it will take a toil on his body.

 

[MenInG]

Kamran Akmal on a rampage!

"We are making efforts to bring back a player who are trying to settle in England" (Reference to Amir)

"Playing domestic cricket shouldn't limit a player's potential, if they excel in all formats of the game, including ODI, T20I, and four-day cricket, and have the ability to make a comeback in Test cricket, they should be given the chance to perform. Age should not be a barrier if the player proves their worth"

"It's important to consider the ones who are struggling to make their return to the national team by playing club cricket and showcasing their hard work"

"Our policy and vision should not be limited to specific players such as Amir or Junaid Khan. We need to have a better policy in place that doesn't discriminate based on past history or reputation,"

 

[ali_ed2006]

will do wonders for Pakistan. gives an opportunity for others to step up and lead the side when the captain takes a break as well as allows the captain to rethink his strategies while observing from outside the field.

Only that in Pakistan cricket it doesn't work that way...when others are given opportunity to step up, they will take that opportunity to take the captaincy away from the current captain.

 

[MenInG]

Kamran Akmal speaking on his Youtube channel:

"Speaking of their mistakes, they deflect and accuse us of criticism. But our focus is on their captaincy, not their performance. We're not blind to their abilities. He (Babar Azam) still doesn't know how to do captaincy after four years - he doesn't even know which bowler to send out at what time. It's no surprise that they lost when they continued to make the same mistakes. We didn't control our errors, and that's why they emerged victorious"

"If both the left-handed batsmen were on the crease, the logical choice would have been to give the ball to Iftikhar Ahmed. But instead, we saw the leg-spinner Shadab Khan was given the over and was being continuously beaten by the Blackcaps batters. It would have been wise to rest him and bring in another all-rounder to give the team a chance to regain their footing"

 

[Rana]

Babar is a poor captain but Chacha honestly would have been taken down even by the left handers at Pindi

It is too easy to line up slow bowlers for boundaries and sixes once the momentum is with the batting side at Rawalpindi

 

[asadee]

There was no harm in trying out Ifti for an over. This mera main bowler main bowler logic of Babar shows he doesn't budge from the script

 

[Abdullah]

It's too easy being a YouTube pundit.
Every single one of these guys have had an opportunity to captain their country and have made a complete mess of situations over the years.
Very easy to sit and talk- and these guys should know that best.
Which captain has actually won anything for us in the last 30 years. 2 guys out of about 30, so why couldn't they deliver any major trophies

 

[MenInG]

Make up your mind Kamran!

==
Kamran praising Babar:

"It's not relatively easy for a batsman to carry on and sustain the momentum as soon as his preceding batsman returns to the pavilion. The only player who can successfully tackle such a situation is the one who is mentally strong, and that is certainly Babar. He knows how to score runs that will contribute to the team's victory. The partnership that he built of 86 runs was crucial and equally important"

"If Pakistan had suffered a back-to-back wicket loss at that point, it must have been easier for New Zealand to dominate Pakistan yet again. Despite playing well, Babar was rather unlucky to remain stranded at 49,"

 

[MenInG]

Kamran Akmal:

“In modern-day cricket, every batsman has to play positive. If we can't score 300 against this team, can we do that when we face India in the Asia Cup? It becomes pretty difficult"

"It was a good practice opportunity for Pakistan team, we got a chance in two games to bat first and put on a big score. The batters should've shown more responsibility."

“Yes, you scored 300 in the second game. But batters should've finished the game. It was a lower-order who finished the run-chase for you. It's not a good sign for Pakistan team.”

 

[Cricket Warrior]

Well, Barbar should step down from all formats of cricket not only from white ball, we can't afford such a defensive captain who plays only for his own records.

 

[Saj]

He'll be sacked if he doesn't step down.

Not making it to the semi-finals was the final nail in his captaincy coffin I reckon.

 

[Rana]

He'll be sacked if he doesn't step down.

Not making it to the semi-finals was the final nail in his captaincy coffin I reckon.

PCB will need to get permission from his agent if they want to sack him.

His agent decides if he stays as Pakistan captain or doesn’t

 

[FearlessRoar]

Kamran Akmal, while talking to the media:

“Babar has made a very good decision to quit captaincy in all formats.”

“Shan Masood has the potential to lead Pakistan. We have a new captain, but the core players are the same, we should perform at our best.”

“I haven’t been contact by the board [PCB]. Yes, I want to work for Pakistan, but do not want to be directly associated with the Pakistan team.”

“I want to work at the grassroot level and with the age group cricket teams."

“I have been saying this for the last five or six years, that players should play more domestic cricket."

“Earlier, a player used to be selected in the Pakistan team after playing two to three domestic seasons, but things have changed now.”

“Players who regularly perform in domestic cricket should be given maximum opportunities."

 

[shah9425]

Kamran Akmal, while talking to the media:

“Babar has made a very good decision to quit captaincy in all formats.”

“Shan Masood has the potential to lead Pakistan. We have a new captain, but the core players are the same, we should perform at our best.”

“I haven’t been contact by the board [PCB]. Yes, I want to work for Pakistan, but do not want to be directly associated with the Pakistan team.”

“I want to work at the grassroot level and with the age group cricket teams."

“I have been saying this for the last five or six years, that players should play more domestic cricket."

“Earlier, a player used to be selected in the Pakistan team after playing two to three domestic seasons, but things have changed now.”

“Players who regularly perform in domestic cricket should be given maximum opportunities."

This guy must be happy after Babar resigned

 

[Rana]

This guy must be happy after Babar resigned

Are you unhappy?

 

[shah9425]

Are you unhappy?

No I think it's wise move so he can focus on his batting

Good decision

 

[BouncerGuy]

Born: January 13, 1982 (age 42 years), Lahore, Pakistan

Happy birthday to the T20 World Cup winner Kamran Akmal.

==

53 Tests, 157 ODIs, 58 T20Is
6,871 runs
454 international dismissals
2009
The first wicket-keeper to record 100 stumpings in T20 cricket
Serving as consultant member of men's national selection committee

 

[W63L35]

With 0-3 (possibly 0-5) to NZ, congratulations to Kamran Akmal who wanted Babar Azam removed from whiteball captaincy......

Just as a reminder...

 

[Rana]

With 0-3 (possibly 0-5) to NZ, congratulations to Kamran Akmal who wanted Babar Azam removed from whiteball captaincy......

Just as a reminder...
View attachment 141427

Congratulations to you guys who wanted Sarfaraz gone as well

Makafaat-E-aml

 

[hitthestump]

Babar was tactically inept, no doubt about it.

He also took out players like Imad Wasim who were toxic but deserved a spot on merit.

But he galvanised the dressing room and under his wing everyone gave 100% for him. We beat India, did well in ICC comps and dominated bilaterals which were an easier feat but he still did it.

His record speaks for itself in an era when several teams are much stronger than Pakistan.

The fans may yet wish for his return to the leadership.

 

[ritzy_123]

Babar was tactically inept, no doubt about it.

He also took out players like Imad Wasim who were toxic but deserved a spot on merit.

But he galvanised the dressing room and under his wing everyone gave 100% for him. We beat India, did well in ICC comps and dominated bilaterals which were an easier feat but he still did it.

His record speaks for itself in an era when several teams are much stronger than Pakistan.

The fans may yet wish for his return to the leadership.

on point brother and tactical part can easily be developed through different strategies but we always want natural leaders.. same goes for our spin department we're struggling as we're not utilizing the technological aspect of this era.. and what we can say after ramiz went away from pcb i've no words to explain the mess..

 

[W63L35]

Congratulations to you guys who wanted Sarfaraz gone as well

Makafaat-E-aml

I firmly believe Sarfraz was a very good captain...

 

[Rana]

I firmly believe Sarfraz was a very good captain...

Well I firmly believe Babar wasn’t a good captain

So no injustice done. But injustice was done against Sarfaraz

 

[Cricket Warrior]

Well I firmly believe Babar wasn’t a good captain

So no injustice done. But injustice was done against Sarfaraz

Sarfaraz was a good captain but he was a pathetic player. So you can't remain in the team only on the basis of captaincy.

 

[Rana]

Sarfaraz was a good captain but he was a pathetic player. So you can't remain in the team only on the basis of captaincy.

Well you have a pathetic team now. I hope the compromise was worth it?

 

[Cricket Warrior]

Well you have a pathetic team now. I hope the compromise was worth it?

I don't think so because at that time team was winning because of players performances.

Now you don't have any match winner who can win you matches. If you give this same team to Pat Cummins so it doesn't mean you will start winning the games.